Then there's no implication in my statements. And no implications in Aonuma's statements and reasoning either (unless it's like in Nirolak's theory).
And the problem isn't the quality of the games people who like the Zelda series won't necessarily like its spinoffs because they won't play like the mainlines games. People who like A Link Between Worlds won't necessarily like TriForce Heroes even though they share a lot of elements. Unless there are spinoffs that are play more like sequels than something completely different (e.g. Hyrule Warriors) and are on the same level of production values as the mainline series, then being reductionist and saying spinoffs are the same as the mainline series because "games are games," is pointless.
Do the creators of games need to see sales of spinoffs to make changes (specifically female playable characters in this series) to formulas of mainline series? So many other changes get made in series regardless of demand for them why is it that this particular matter necessitates sales from spinoffs, but no one purported that people had to buy TriForce Heroes to get more clothing options in BotW? Or having a wolf companion, physics-based gameplay, climbing, crafting, etc.?
Were all those new features present in Zelda spinoffs, or were they present in other video game series like Minecraft, Metal Gear, Assassin's Creed, and so forth? If it's the latter, then there are plenty of popular series that have shown they beget success in part because of diversity/choice among their protagonists' genders. What's the sticking point about this matter?
First, Aonuma and Miyamoto's statements are always pretty different since the former tries to be very diplomatic in his answers, while the latter don't really care about that. While Aonuma has a lot of liberties with the franchises nowadays, he still follows a structure defined years ago by Miyamoto (for better and for worse, but BotW doesn't make too many people complain). There's no point in trying to read between lines with those two when it concerns the main series.
Second, you missed my point for spin-offs being games just like mainline ones are games as well. You're mixing the quality with the genre of the games. Hyrule Warriors and Triforce Heroes are both good games but in different genres from the main series, of course it'll appeal to different people. Super Princess Peach was an average game in the same genre, while Wario/Yoshi were good and successful games in the same genre as well. Guess which ones became their own franchise? It's also not a matter of Peach being a girl, with other Nintendo franchises becoming more female-oriented.
It's not a matter of seeing spinoff sales before trying something in the main franchise, it's the matter of the main franchise being popular and respected for many, many years, and arguably not needing a sales boost. Can easily be compared to Metroid (for example), taking more risks over the years for not selling as well as it should. The new Zelda is not evolving that much as being a classical Zelda game made with modern techniques and game systems. Those third party games you're talking about also didn't invent those elements.
Again, as we've talked about in a different thread, that's their choice, and not every game need a creator or character selection. For them, the main developers of this franchise, the main games, are about Link being the Hero of whatever (time/wind/etc), Zelda being the princess of the Kingdom, and an incredible foe (usually Ganondorf) having to be defeated. There's variations of course, but in terms of settings, this is the Legend of Zelda, not something else, just like the main games will always be action/adventure games (not RPGs) despite the small feature changes.
Even if they are technically or theorically different, Link is now an established character in the casual public's eye. Same for Mario.
On the other hand, Nintendo still pushes for more diversity in their other games. It's really not hard to comprehend why they want some of their franchises to stay the same, since they have other games and other genres to appeal to everyone.
Like I said, this is not actually confirmed, but I personally think there's more to it than just chitchat. I'm not attempting to spread any misinformation but rather my own beliefs that he's hinting at something tangible.
Yeah, while Miyamoto is super straight in his answers (unlike Aonuma), he also doesn't tease/hints games that won't happen. I'm sure there has at least been serious talks about it even if it's not currently in production.
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